By Brendan Stiles
brendan-stiles@uiowa.edu
The Iowa men’s basketball team came away with a 80-51 win over Prairie View A&M on Saturday. But what took place on the hardwood of Carver-Hawkeye Arena was secondary to news released after the game.
Iowa head coach Todd Lickliter had what Brian Wolf, who is a team doctor, said was a medical procedure performed at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics on Saturday after he had testing done on Friday.
“We’ve been talking with his family, and he has been doing really well,” Wolf said Saturday afternoon after the game. “He’s doing extremely well, and he is in the hospital as we speak now.”
Without the services of the third-year Hawkeye head coach, Iowa assistant Chad Walthall filled in for Lickliter. The decision for him to handle Lickliter’s duties came during practice on Friday.
Playing with a little extra inspiration, Iowa undoubtedly played its best basketball of the season against the Panthers. Eight different Hawkeyes scored in the 29-point victory and everyone received playing time except for redshirt freshman John Lickliter, who along with his older brother and graduate assistant Garrett Lickliter, were with their father as he recovered from his procedure.
It was a performance that the team was certainly proud of given the circumstances it faced.
“I think all of us would take a bullet for him and do whatever we had to help him out,” freshman Cully Payne said of his head coach. “We kind of came together at a crucial time, and it just helped us out.”
Leading the way was freshman Eric May, who made the most of his first career start by finishing with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds.
“Coaches look for different guys to step up at certain points, and I felt comfortable out there and ready to do whatever they need,” May said about starting for the first time in the Black and Gold.
Joining May in double-figures for points were sophomore Anthony Tucker, who for the second straight game led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 20 points, sophomore Matt Gatens with 12, and senior Devan Bawinkel.
Not only did Bawinkel finish with 11 points, but he also connected on both of his first two career free-throw attempts, which took place during the game’s final minutes.
“It was a little funny,” Gatens said about Bawinkel making his debut at the charity stripe in a Hawkeye uniform after not attempting a single free throw in 700 minutes played last season. “He did a great job and knocked them both down.”
The Hawkeyes put on a 3-point shooting clinic, going 15-of-31 from outside the arc. The 15 3-pointers tied a school record. This was best on display early in the contest. With Iowa ahead 17-7, Tucker banked a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired, then proceeded to knock down two more to push the Iowa lead to 26-9.
From there, Iowa would dominate, extending its lead to 39-15 at halftime, and then not allowing the game to ever be in doubt during the second half, jumping out to as big a lead as 33 points.
Now at 3-5, the Hawkeyes now turn their attention towards their in-state foes. Iowa travels on the road for its next two contests, starting with a battle in Cedar Falls against Northern Iowa on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.
